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What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)


Mr. Breathmask

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2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I can see why. The way that the camera stays on a close-up of her, while maintaining a medium shot of him, suggesting that she wishes to commit, but that he's not so sure, symbolically pulling away, is masterful.

We still don't know the title of the movie!

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Dave (1993)

Fun little movie, The Prince and The Pauper meets Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.  Feels so quaint and unrealistic in these dark and disturbed times.  But, it is a winning, well-written movie, a political fantasy that invites you along for the ride and makes it worthwhile.  Nice James Newton Howard score.

Oh, and Oliver Stone parodies himself in a cameo and is dead serious about it. 

3/4

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The aviator.

 

The first hour was great, as were all the actors. Even Cate Blanchett didn’t annoy me and Kate Beckinsale is fantastic, but then I briefly lost some interest. They should have added one or two scenes in which Hepburn meets her new love interest and DiCaprio’s weird behaviour escalated just a tiny little bit too quickly. Other than that, very good.

I still find hearing a non-Middle Earth score by Howard Shore or hearing him use instruments that don’t appear in his Middle Earth work a weird experience, but I am a getting used to the fact that those other scores aren’t remarkable. I liked the Bach arrangements, although one flute tremolo was incredibly bad, and the cue when Ava visits him during his bad phase is mostly great too. Such music is the way of the future, the way of the future, the way of the future…

 

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On 1/31/2020 at 5:20 PM, bollemanneke said:

The aviator.

 

The first hour was great, as were all the actors. Even Cate Blanchett didn’t annoy me and Kate Beckinsale is fantastic, but then I briefly lost some interest. They should have added one or two scenes in which Hepburn meets her new love interest and DiCaprio’s weird behaviour escalated just a tiny little bit too quickly. Other than that, very good.

I still find hearing a non-Middle Earth score by Howard Shore or hearing him use instruments that don’t appear in his Middle Earth work a weird experience, but I am a getting used to the fact that those other scores aren’t remarkable. I liked the Bach arrangements, although one flute tremolo was incredibly bad, and the cue when Ava visits him during his bad phase is mostly great too. Such music is the way of the future, the way of the future, the way of the future…

 

 

I tried watching it, kept nodding off. Such a bore.

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Caught some of 2003's Daredevil., and gosh, this movie didn't age well at all.

 

The early 2000s-ness of the movie is cringe taken to the nth level. Action scenes with a metal soundtrack on background, horrible CGI, lots of slow motion, and that utterly cringeworthy kick on Bullseye's chin on the scene below... Most action movies back then were horrid.

 

 

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31 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Action scenes with a metal soundtrack on background, horrible CGI, lots of slow motion, and that utterly cringeworthy kick on Bullseye's chin on the scene below... Most action movies back then were horrid.

 

 

 

Clearly influenced by The Matrix.

 

31 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Caught some of 2003's Daredevil., and gosh, this movie didn't age well at all.

 

 

Critics and audience already didn't like it in 2003.

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59 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You seem to be implying that it has improved...

 

Action tendencies on Hollywood of the last few years:

 

Early 2000s - Inspired by: The Matrix - NuMetal music during action scenes, slow motion, horrible CGI, edgy characters, edgy music, edgy mood.

Mid to late 2000s/Early 2010s - Inspired by: Greengrass' Bourne, Nolan's Batman - Tense score mixing fast violins with synths, moody heroes, fast cuts during fight scenes making them almost incomprehensible, zero fun, conspiracies

Mid to late 2010s - Inspired by: The Avengers, Disney's Star Wars - Grandiose action scenes with lots of CGI and digital characters, complicated worldbuilding spreading over several movies on a same megafranchise, bringing back dead franchises but erasing its past movies people didn't like, cinematic universes resembling big TV shows, filmmakers and studio trying to appeal to loud fanboys on social media, emphasis on female/minority characters as heroes.

 

All of three are bad, but on distinct ways. The first one is so cringeworthy it makes the movies unwatchable, the second is boring and dull as fuck, and the third is tiresome. But no, it didn't improved :(.

 

And that's not even mentioning the other equally bad sub-trends: new war epics inspired by Gladiator, dystopian teen movies based on Young Adult literature inspired by The Hunger Games...

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There are always bad movies. And there are also always good movies. The former tends to follow the influence of the latter.

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Daredevil is awesome. Colin Farrell kills an old lady with a peanut. Doesn’t get better than that!

 

His Bullseye character saves that flick, and makes it endlessly entertaining. One of the first instances I can think of where the superhero genre is openly mocked in the film itself. 

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8 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

How did that happen? That's not common, is it?

 

Steef is right. The Aviator is performed by the Flemish Radio Orchestra. The Artist was performed by two different Belgium orchestras (Brussels Philharmonic and another one for the Big Band music).

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The Day Of The Jackal - this classic thriller still manages to be tense and exciting despite the fact that of course we know from history that President DeGaulle was never assassinated. Suave, handsome, very English, a bit posh and playing a killer ... I found myself pondering what sort of Bond Edward Fox might have been, possibly Moore-esque with a bit more 'edge'. This less said about the 90s Bruce Willis/Richard Gere remake, the better.

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5 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

His Bullseye character saves that flick, and makes it endlessly entertaining. One of the first instances I can think of where the superhero genre is openly mocked in the film itself. 

 

Albeit unintentionally...

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Easy Lessons (2018)

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A website offered 6 award-winning docus to watch for free this week, so I thought why not try one of them?

 

This one's about Kafiya, a somalian refugee teen trying her hardest to live and integrate in Hungary, her coming of age and internal identity crisis. The crew was with her for 3 years from 15 to 18, we see short snippets building up to a full picture - studying for the high school finals, practising the language she's already very good at, living at the state home with problematic but not unfriendly kids, both overcrowded and lonely, working odd jobs, working towards becoming a model, learning to swim for the first time, etc.

 

It features multiple monologue interludes in Somalian directly addressed to her mother she left behind and misses terribly, the mother whom she sees in herself, who saved her by paying a human trafficker and sending her to Europe after her father gave her away as a teen bride to an old man (the rest of the group went further after a year's journey, she stayed in Hungary completely alone because she was tired),... the mother who, still being a devout Muslim, she doesn't think would understand or easily accept significant changes or cultural diversions like Kafiya not wearing the hijab because she doesn't want to, seeing a white guy after she hated every man in her life back home, or converting to Christianity - these parts are the confessions she couldn't yet make to her directly, but had to release in some way after bottling her insecurities up intentionally for years.

 

It never really delves deep into the politics of it (maybe aside from the scene learning about pre-WWII nationalism and assimilation politics, something which she may not have the vocabulary or background knowledge to fully grasp but does kind of go through herself), but keeps her in the focus - it was also started before the big 2015 refugee/migrant waves, so the environment reacts to her in a way different way than would be expected or at least assumed today.

 

I loved this, apart from the boyfriend/religion section from about halfway until about 2/3rds through, where I personally lost connection and understanding and was just watching something alien from outside - the boyfriend wasn't sympathetic (came across as a bit of an overenunciating pompous prick from what was shown, actually) and brought her into some side faction of christianity with foreign motivational speakers talking about how JC is your best possible friend, christian rock songs and all the works, almost seeming like, at least at first, he could have been more concerned with gaining brownie points for bringing a lost soul into the "correct" group, if I may make wild assumptions - but then again, me and all my closer family are such outsiders to this whole thing that even a pre-meal prayer thanking whoever above for the food you or the other person just cooked from ingredients you bought with your money you got by you working seems strange, especially when recited like a well-trained and slightly disinterested radio host. Anyway, I loved it again when we got out of that. I'm really glad I saw it.

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Saving Mr. Banks

 

I haven't watched this through since it came out but I enjoyed it as much as I did then. It is certainly sugarcoated in that Disney way to an extent, but something about it manages to get to me. I think the characters are just endearing. Even Tom Hanks' Walt Disney isn't portrayed exactly as you would expect the Walt Disney Company to want to project his image and rings true. He seems real. The Sherman Brothers are a joy. Paul Giamatti's bit role as a limo driver is also memorable. Of course, the main focus of the movie is P.L. Travers, who was notoriously difficult to get along with and the flashbacks to her childhood story of a broken family, alcoholism, depression and even attempted suicide is effective and involving. I don't know, I just think this one has great characters and performances. It's a rare modern Disney movie I actually like.

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Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.

 

McDormand and Dickson’s mum can’t cry. Rockwell and Harrelson are awesome. The first half rushed by and it’s been a while since a movie almost made me cry. It was also the first time a movie had complicated characters I didn’t like, but whose actions I still understood. But then Mildred threw the cocktails and it went downhill. Very unfortunate indeed. Huh, why do I only notice that this is Peter Dinklage now?

The score is very effective.

 

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The Meaning Of Life - by way of a belated tribute to Terry Jones. Not the Python team's finest filmic hour (that's Life Of Brian), but it still contains (to quote Eric Idle) 'something to offend absolutely everyone' :lol:

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THE POST

or A PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST ON BEHALF OF THE DEMOCRATS

or THE SPIELBERG/HANKS/

STREEP LOVE-IN

or WE GOT F***ED IN THE ASS A YEAR AGO AND WE'VE BEEN CRYING INTO OUR COFFEE EVER SINCE.

 

I can't remember seeing a more hate-filled, one-sided, contemptible, transparent film, in a very long time.

I emerged from it thinking "Hey, even want to impeach Trump!".

Whatever happened to one of the top-five directors who ever lived? This is white bread, beyond belief.

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4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

THE POST

or A PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST ON BEHALF OF THE DEMOCRATS

or THE SPIELBERG/HANKS/

STREEP LOVE-IN

or WE GOT F***ED IN THE ASS A YEAR AGO AND WE'VE BEEN CRYING INTO OUR COFFEE EVER SINCE.

 

I can't remember seeing a more hate-filled, one-sided, contemptible, transparent film, in a very long time.

I emerged from it thinking "Hey, even want to impeach Trump!".

Whatever happened to one of the top-five directors who ever lived? This is white bread, beyond belief.

 

Or: A (perhaps somewhat indulging) love letter to the freedom of the press.

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4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

THE POST

I can't remember seeing a more hate-filled, one-sided, contemptible, transparent film, in a very long time.

The Post does have it's pitfalls, yes, and while I completely understand that many were detracted by the distracting air of relevance, especially in relation to the current press-government relationship in the United States, I personally maintain that it's one of 2017's best. 

 

The craft, acting and score are still at a remarkably high level, and while it's admittedly not Spielberg's best, it's quite far from his worst too. In my opinion, it's a collaboration of many masters of their craft that's worthy of being embraced rather than derided. 

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13 minutes ago, SteveMc said:

The Conversation

Nice taut, tense Coppola.  Hackman's performance is remarkable.  

4/4

 

I've been dying to see this for years but they never put it on TV and I've never seen the DVD in shops!

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14 minutes ago, Þekþiþm said:

 

I've been dying to see this for years but they never put it on TV and I've never seen the DVD in shops!

It's free right now on Vudu.  Don't know if it will work Down Under, though.

https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/The-Conversation/182160

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6 hours ago, Þekþiþm said:

Eh? Trump wasn't even on the radar in the Nixon era...

 

3 hours ago, Þekþiþm said:

Really what's Trump done to the press other than hurl insults at them?

 

Read between the lines, Jerry. This film is a thinly-disguised attack on Trump, and that makes it all the more disgusting. The ending, where it sets itself up as a sort of prequel to ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, is laughable. To think that it could even sit at the same table as ATPM, is crass, in the extreme.

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John Carpenter double bill last night.

They Live - this satirical sci-fi actioner is great fun. 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper isn't the greatest actor, but being a wrestler means he takes the action stuff in his stride.

Vampires - reasonably entertaining action-horror ... you've got James Woods being a badass, plentiful gore and Sheryl Lee's nekkid butt. Good 'Saturday night with beer' movie.

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Caught some The Dark Knight Rises yesterday.

 

My gosh, this movie had some utterly terrible dialogues! At certain point, Ben Mendehlson (I didn't remember him being on this movie), after hearing Bane's evil plan:

 

"You're pure evil!"

 

"I'm necessary evil".

 

Not even kids movies have someone saying to the villain that he is pure evil, let alone on the "dark, grim and adult" Batman franchise the Nolan/Snyder/DC fanboys love so much. Unless it's Nolan awkwardly trying to insert some humour into the movie, but failing (it's like the dullest kid in class trying to tell you a joke with a monotone voice).

 

And the opening scene is a joke unto itself - literally, it's an internet meme:

 

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/baneposting

 

Don't know how this movie got so much acclaim almost eight years ago (!), it's pretty bad.

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